Packing container



y 4, 1934. c. F. WILLIAMS Er AL 1 961,642

PACKING CONTAINER Filed July 5, 1933 Patented July 24, 1934 PACKING CONTAINER Charles F. Williams, Belmont, and Charles Q.

Ives, Reading, Mass.,

assignors to Sherman Paper Products Corporation, Newton, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 5, 1933, Serial No.-679,016

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a packing container more particularly of the class designed for use in packing certain kinds of edibles for the market as well as in vending such edibles to the 6 ultimate consumer.

In packing edibles such as berries, grapes, mushrooms, etc., which are susceptible to being crushed or otherwise damaged in flexible containers such as bags, it is the practice to use 10 wooden baskets of light weight but of suflicient rigidity to withstand handling, storage, and shipment. The object of this invention is to provide a packing container of light weight and neat appearance which is not only as effective as the wooden baskets insofar as concerns protecting the edibles against damage, but which can be fabricated more economically than the wooden baskets. Another object is to provide such a container with a cover or lid which serves to protect the edibles against contamination by dust or the like, permits the containers to be piled on top of oneanother and can be easily opened and closed. Still another object is to equip the container with a wire handle which facilitates handling of the package and keeps the cover closed without the need of other retaining means.

With the foregoing and other objects and features in view, we shall now describe a packing 3o container embodying the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, where- Figure 1 shows in perspective a blank from which the container is made.

5', Figure 2 is a similar view of the blank for the cover.

, Figure 3 illustrates in perspective the completely fabricated container, including the cover, in an open condition.

Figure 4 represents a longitudinal fragmentary section through the front end portion of the container on the line 44 of Figure 3, the cover being shown closed in full lines and open in dotted outline.

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the container on the line 55 of Figure 3, but with the-cover closed and held closed by a wire handle.

Referring first to Figure 3 of the drawing, the container therein illustrated and its lid or cover are constructed of paperboard, preferably the corrugated paperboard shown, of suiiicient rigidity to withstand the stresses of service and to prevent the crushing of such edibles as are packed in the container. The particular container shown for purpose of illustration is of rectangular form and is particularly useful for the packing, storing, shipping, and vending of mushrooms, although it may be used in connection with such edibles as berries and grapes, in whichcase it may be of a rectangular form approximating that of the usual wooden strawberry baskets. The corrugated paperboard is, as shown, preferably made up of three plies, namely, two smooth outer plies and a corrugated inner ply adhesively secured to one another. The outer ply a constituting the exterior of the container may be colored and, if desired, carry ornamentation or advertising matter imprinted thereon. The outer ply d constituting the interior of the container preferably carries a thin coating or layer 0 of wax or other water-repelling material which not only tends to prevent the container'from becoming soggy and weak when edibles .of high water content are packed therein, but which tends to reduce the loss or moisture through the walls of the container from such edibles, e. g., mushrooms, are sold on a weight basis and are preserved best at a particular moisture content. The inner corrugated ply b imparts the desired stiffness or rigidity to the board and minimizes the thickness or weight of paper material requisite to the attainment of such rigidity.

The container, which can be formed from a single appropriately pre-cut and pre-scored blank 0 shown in Figure 1, has side walls s, end walls e, and a pair of wings w associated with each end wall. The wings in are folded inwardly against the end walls and are secured thereto as by staples ,f at such points that the wings are separable from the end walls at their, upper end portions. The cover, which can also be formed from a single appropriately pre-cut and prescoredblank 1 shown in Figure 2, has end laps h and side laps i, which, as shown in Figure 3, are bent downwardly from the main body of the cover so that they can be brought into the desired operative relation with the walls of the container. Preferably, there are a number of openings or vents v therethrough to avoid a stale atmosphere accumulating in the closed container. One of the end laps h is, as shown in. Figure 3, received in between the upper portions of an end wall e and its wings w and is secured thereto as by staples i, whereas the other end lap is receivable in between the upper end portions of what might be considered the front end wall and its wings. It is thus seen that the line of scoring defining what might be termed the back end lap of the cover serves as a hinge permitting the cover to be opened and closed. when the cover is closed, the side laps i are directed horizontally outwardly by the upper edges of the side walls 3, being then bendable against the upper end portions of the side walls s, as best shown in Figure 5.

When the container has been packed and closed, it is according to the present invention, equipped with a wire handle m, as illustrated in Figure 5, which facilitates handling of the package and also retains the cover in closed position. The wire handle may be of the conventional inverted U-shaped form having inwardly turned hooked end portions n. The end portions n may, as shown,-be put in hooked engagement with the side walls s above apertures 0 formed through the side walls substantially midway of their end edges and adjacent to their top edges but immediately below the edges of the side laps i of the cover. This means that the side laps of the cover can, as shown, be held frlctionally against the side walls of the container by the hook portions of the handle, thereby keeping the cover closed. In this connection, it is to be observed that the corrugated paperboard affords a resiliently compressible material which can be received tightly in the hook portions of the handle with the desired frictional grip on the side walls of the container. When the closed containers are being piled on top of one another, it is a simple matter to swing the handle down against the cover where it does not interfere with proper piling. When the handle is upstanding, as shown in Figure 5, it is possible to raise the cover partially for the purpose of inspecting the contents of the container. Upon removal of the handle, which is easily eifected, it becomes possible to open the cover fully and to remove the contents of the container.

An embodiment .of this invention having been described. it should be obvious that various changes and modifications might be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of invention as defined by the appended claim.

Weclaim:-

The combination with an article of the class described, comprising a one-piece, rigid, corrugated paperboard container made of smooth outer plies and a corrugated inner ply and having side walls, end walls, and a pair of wings associated with each end wall, said wings being folded against said end walls and secured thereto but being separable at their upper end portions, each of said side walls having an aperture therethrough substantially midway of its end edges and adjacent to its upper edge, and a rigid, onepiece, corrugated paperboard cover similar to the container material and having end laps and side laps bent downwardly from the main body of the cover, one of said end laps being received in between the upper portions of an end wall and its wings and being secured thereto, said other end lap being received in between the upper end portions of said other end wall and its wings, and said side laps being directed horizontally outwardly by the upper edges of said side walls when said cover is brought down over said container but being bent against the upper end portion of said side walls with their edges terminating at said apertures, of a wire handle having hooked end portions in hooked engagement with said apertures and said side walls above their apertures and frictionally holding said side laps against said side walls, whereby said cover is kept closed.

- CHARLES F. WILLIAMS.

CHARLES Q. IVES. 

